UFC announces three-year TV deal with BT Sport in UK and Ireland

The UFC has signed a three-year TV deal with BT Sport that goes into effect Aug. 1, officials today announced.

BT Sport is a soon-to-launch lineup of premium pay channels in the U.K. and Ireland. Fees for the channels haven’t been announced.

Officials said they’ll announce exact details of the UFC deal in the coming days, though it’ll include additional taped content, such as news/insider programs and the UFC’s varied fight-highlights shows. It also will include originally produced programming specific to the region.

The UFC’s often-criticized deal with ESPN UK concludes Aug. 1. The channel has been home to the UFC since 2009 but rarely made the organization a priority. The paid-subscription model didn’t prove financially viable for ESPN, which recently sold its assets BT Sport.

UFC Executive Vice President and Managing Director of Europe, Middle East and Africa Garry Cook told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) this past month that the organization was looking for a TV partner that could expand its programming offerings to U.K. and Irish fight fans.

“What we’ve worked hard on is finding a TV partner that just doesn’t pay money for our rights but actually gives us the opportunity to produce and develop a magazine program that tells the story and creates awareness about the sport,” Cook said.

Cook said one of the largest challenges to the UFC in the U.K. is the air times for events. According to the executive, 96 percent of the UFC’s event broadcasts air after 2 a.m. local time. However, he hopes supplemental programming can help satisfy existing fans and bring in new ones.

BT Sport’s debut live offering coincides with UFC 163 on Aug. 3.

BT Sport will launch with two of its own channels, as well as an ESPN-branded offering. It’s closed or is finalizing deals with sports organizations such as Premier League and Scottish Premier League football, Premiership Rugby, the Women’s Tennis Association, MotoGP motorcycle racing, NASCAR and more.